


Almost Lover

by Dukkuna



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Almost Lover, Angst, Heart Break, Hurt, Loneliness, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2265369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dukkuna/pseuds/Dukkuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lovino is alone and it's all Antonio's fault. Can things be fixed or is their love gone forever? (Completed)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Almost Lover part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published writing so don't be too harsh to judge please :)

Lovino sighed as he opened his eyes. It had been another sleepless night alone. His breathing seemed to echo around the room, returning to him when it found nowhere else to go. It hadn't always been like this. Hell, it used to never be this way. But now here he was, wallowing in his own self pity. A silent house and a lonely man, what a perfect combination for depression. That's what it was right, depression? Lovino didn't care enough to pursue the thought further.

 

Getting up, he awkwardly threw on a shirt. Having a broken wrist really sucked sometimes, most of the day actually. Lovino made his way downstairs to the kitchen. No longer did the smell of magdalenas hit his nose, and no longer was there a cup of espresso waiting for him on the table. He had gotten used to that though. It had been weeks, after all. 

 

But other things weren't so easy to get used to. His empty fridge, for example. Lovino had rarely ever gone shopping, had forgotten that it was what the average house owner was supposed to do. A fine layer of dust now seemed to coat the entire place, making him cough a bit. He’d never needed to clean before, either. Toni, _no Antonio,_ Lovino corrected himself, had always done those kinds of things.

 

Finding a leftover chunk of cheese and cutting some bits of mold off of it, Lovino made his way back up stairs to continue packing. He wasn't able to afford the flat on his own, so he was moving elsewhere. Besides, what point was there in having such a large space to himself? And like his brother said, it may do him some good to get away from here. Away from Antonio. Out of Spain. Back home to Italy. 

 

Taking a turn down a hallway Lovino stopped in front of a door. It was the last room he had to pack up. It had been Antonio's room for all intents and purposes, even though the man had spent more time in Lovino’s room instead. He had been procrastinating going in there though, dreading the memories that were sure to come. He'd have to go through every little thing and mail Antonio his things. Lovino really wasn't looking forward to this.

 

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked in. It was exactly as he remembered it; Antonio's bed in the corner, the tomato red sheets neatly made, a photo of himself and Antonio at the beach in Barcelona on the nightstand, a glass half full next to it with water, and futbol posters and jerseys pinned up on the walls religiously.

 

Plugging in his ear buds with one hand, Lovino got to work. Music hit his ears and he lost himself. Walking towards the bed, he softly felt the sheets before grabbing a white-knuckled fistful of it. Images filled Lovino's head and he had to force himself not to cry.

 

_Your fingertips across my skin_

_The palm trees swaying in the wind_

_Images_


	2. Almost Lover part 2

Lovino was laying in the shade on the beach, watching Toni throw a frisbee around with a stray dog. It was a beautiful day out and for once he felt completely relaxed. It had been awhile since he’d had downtime like this, with his tough hours at his new job.

"Hey Lovi!" Toni yelled, "Come and play with me and Scout!"

"You named the dog? You're so stupid Toni! You know we can't have a dog! Our apartment won't allow it! And no I won't come 'play with you and that stray' because I'm perfectly comfortable here in the shade!"

Despite yelling, Lovino wasn't really mad. The last several times coming down to the beach the dog had been there and had taken an instant liking to Toni. The man always had a way with animals, which mystified Lovino greatly. Animals always seemed to shy away from him.

Toni ran up to Lovino, leaving 'Scout' to chew on the frisbee. His best friend gave him his best puppy eyes and even quivered his lip, making Lovino cringe a bit. That face always had an effect on him. 

"Can we pleeeeeaassee get a puppy amor?" Toni begged.

Lovino blushed at the use of amor. He had no intentions of denying Toni a dog, but he had to make it look like a big decision. So after supposedly sitting there for a few minutes thinking about it, (admittedly he was actually thinking about how incredible Toni looked in a muscle shirt), he said "Well... I guess we could find a different flat to liv-"

"OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Lovino was interrupted by an ecstatic Toni who had jumped on top of him and was currently squeezing the life out of his tomato filled body. Electricity seemed to fill Lovino wherever his skin touched Toni's. It made him blush, but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant.

"Can't... Breathe..." Lovino finally managed to get out.

"Oh!" Toni exclaimed before sitting up, which only made things worse. Lovino felt his face flare even redder at the compromising position they were in. Toni was now straddling him, with his hands resting on Lovino's chest. As they both froze, something changed in Toni's expression, which made his heart skip a beat.

"You're so beautiful mi amor," Toni whispered.

"Wha-" Lovino was cut off as Toni leaned down and kissed him. It was chaste, as if the man on top of him was uncertain. Toni leaned back up and started to get off of him, but Lovino was having none of that. He would never admit it, but Lovino had wanted him to do that for months. Grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, he pulled Toni back down and kissed him again.

"I'm not done with you yet, bastard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and post a chapter every Thursday around noon Pacific time so look for me then, guys :)


	3. Almost Lover part 3

Lovino grabbed the picture of him and Antonio from the nightstand and threw it at the adjacent wall. The glass plating shattered and the wood frame splintered leaving a mess on the floor. Wiping the glass away from the picture, he cut his finger. Staring at the blood, panic started to set in and everything around him disappeared.

 

_You sang me Spanish lullabies_

_The sweetest sadness in your eyes_

_Clever trick_

 

 ———————————————————————————————-

 Toni ran up to Lovino as he was about to leave. Handing him a heavy coat and umbrella he said, “You be safe out there Lovi! They said in the news that there’s going to be heavy rain!”

 ”I know that bastard!” He said, giving Tony a kiss before walking out the door.  _Stupid tomato eating Spaniard_ , Lovino thought, a little bit of rain never hurt anyone before.

 Walking down the sidewalk to work, the clouds seemed to get darker. Lovino jumped as the abrupt sound of thunder hit the air. Finally, a drop of rain landed on his nose. Wiping it on his hand, he reached for his umbrella and froze. There was blood on his hand. Quickly examining himself for any cuts, he found none. Rain was dropping more steadily now and that’s when he realized. It wasn’t water pouring down from the sky, but blood.

 Lovino screamed and opened his eyes, thrashing about in his bed. Toni busted through the door, running to his distressed lover’s side.

 ”Amor! What’s wrong?” By this time Toni was examining Lovino all over, looking for injuries.

 ”I’m fine, Toni!” Lovino insisted, but his boyfriend-housemate-whateverhewas wasn’t convinced.

 ”Then why were you screaming?” Toni asked, concern still obvious in his voice.

 Lovino blushed. Shaking his head, he wouldn’t say. But Toni persisted and finally he whispered “I-I had a nightmare.” Tears welled up in his eyes as Toni got onto the bed with him and hugged him. Kissing his forehead he said “Oh Lovi I’m so sorry.”

 ”Stay with me until I fall asleep?” Lovino asked, the first tear finally falling.

 Toni gave a small smile. “Of course.” And he sang softly until his beloved fell sound asleep.

 

_*Arroz con leche me quiero casar_

_con una señorita de la capital,_

_que sepa coser,_

_que sepa contar,_

_que sepa abrir la puerta_

_para ir a jugar._

_Yo soy la viudita, del barrio del rey,_

_Me quiero casar y no encuentro con quien:_

_con este, si, con este, no;_

_contigo, mi vida, me casare yo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Link to where I found the spanish lullaby:  
> http://community.babycenter.com/post/a6173875/spanish_lullabiesfolk_songs


	4. Almost Lover part 4

Lovino hesitantly licked his finger and then retrieved the picture from the wreckage. It was completely unscathed, despite the harm its container had taken. Giving the photo a long look, he felt his heart twist inside of him. It was cruel, really, how much pain he was going through. He missed this so much. He missed Toni. But there was no way it could go back to the way it was, not after what Toni had done.

 

_I never want to see you unhappy_

_I thought you’d want the same for me_

 

 ”Toni!” Lovino called out, “I’m home!” Hanging his coat and barista apron in the entrance closet, he made his way to the living room. The TV was on, playing soccer naturally, but no one was watching it besides Scout. Checking the kitchen, Lovino found nothing but a few specks of flour on the counter. Where could his boyfriend have gone?

 In one hand he had a bouquet of red carnations, in the other a fine bottle of Champaign. Lovino had wanted to surprise Toni for once with something nice, but he was nowhere to be found.

 Walking up the stairs he checked his own room first before opening Toni’s door. The scene in front of him made Lovino freeze. It took several seconds to process what he was looking at, and when he did his blood ran cold.

 His half naked boyfriend was trying to shove a very naked Francis into his closet. Lovino dropped the wine bottle, making its contents splash and shatter across the floor. Toni jumped, staring wide-eyed at him, slowly looking from the shattered wine bottle, to the red carnations, to finally Lovino’s horrified face.

 ”Amor,” Toni whispered, “you’re home early.”

 Lovino was fuming. “Get out.” He said, his voice dangerously low and steady.

 ”Wha-” Toni began.

 ”I SAID GET OUT! TAKE YOUR SLUT* OF A LOVER AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS HOUSE YOU BASTARD!”

 Toni looked shocked, but grabbing a pile of clothes and a now less naked Francis he left the room, never to return.

 

_Goodbye, my almost lover_

_Goodbye, my hopeless dream_

_I’m trying not to think about you_

_Can’t you just let me be?_

_So long, my luckless romance_

_My back is turned on you_

_I should’ve known you’d bring me heartache_

_Almost lovers always do_

 

Lovino heard the front door shut and he finally crumbled. He fell back against the wall behind him and slowly slid to the floor. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he screamed in agony. Warm tears cascaded down his face without any sign of stopping. 

 He heard a low whine and looked up to see Scout in the doorway. “Come’re boy,” Lovino called out softly, his voice horse. Scout padded over and laid down next to him. He slowly pet the dog’s mangled fur and sighed. “I guess I’m gonna have to give you back to Toni, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Guys I love Francis and I don’t consider him a slut or a pedophile or anything horrid like that~ This is just for this story kay?


	5. Almost Lover part 5

Throwing the frame remains and picture in a trash can, Lovino faced the closet. The same closet where that awful slut tried to hide. With a box in front of him, he slowly opened it. He didn’t know what he had expected. Chains, whips, and kinky underwear maybe? But no, all there was were shirts on hangers and shorts folded nicely on shelves.

 Grabbing handfuls of shirts with his good hand, hangers and all, Lovino started shoving them into the box. He would have folded them nicely had everything been under different circumstances. He clinched the shirt he was holding in both hands. Things weren’t different though. He was alone, while Antonio banged  _Francis_.

 Realizing what shirt he was holding, Lovino gasped. Without thinking he held it to his face and inhaled deeply. Antonio’s distinct smell wafted into his nose and it was like he was somewhere else.

 

_We walked along a crowded street_

_You took my hand and danced with me_

_Images_

 

 ”Come on! Come on! Come on!” Toni squealed, dragging Lovino along by the hand. “La Tomatina* only happens once a year!”

 ”Ah! Just hold on Toni! My legs aren’t as long as yours bastard!” Lovino was being dragged, at his boyfriend’s request, to a tomato festival. At least, that’s what he got out of the rapid Spanish his boyfriend had spewed out earlier that day.

 Both were wearing complete white, besides their boxers which were red. It was Toni’s idea naturally. He said that after the tomato fight they could dry their clothes in the sun and keep the tie-dyed garments as a memento of the day.

 La Tomatina was a popular holiday and crowds of people were already forming. It was getting harder and harder to get around the masses. Suddenly a man ran by, separating Lovino’s and Toni’s hands. Lovino looked up, but Toni had already been swallowed up by the swarm of moving people.

 Panic quickly rose in Lovino as the seconds ticked by. He knew that the longer they were separated the more likely it was for them not to find each other again.

 ”Toni!” Romano called out. “Toni! Toni! ANTONIO!”

 A hand grabbed his shoulder from behind and Lovino gasped in fear. Turning around, he was relieved to see that it was only Toni. Lovino was quick to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, inhaling his scent.

 ”I was so scared Toni! I thought I had lost you.” Lovino exclaimed.

 ”Oh Lovi,” Toni smiled, “I’ll always find you because I love you. And when you love someone you have a string attaching them to your heart.”

 Lovino was touched. It was the most romantic thing he had ever heard Toni say. Lovino grinned. “Come on, Toni! The festival is about to begin!” It was Lovino this time, who was dragging Toni by the hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who want more info on La Tomatina:  
> http://www.latomatinatours.com/


	6. Almost Lover part 6

Lovino sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Who was he kidding? Certainly not himself. He missed Toni like one of his own limbs. These past few years they had been building a life for themselves. It was hard to believe that just one instant could shatter everything they had together.

 But what was he to do? Toni had cheated on him, broken his heart. And even if Lovino had the ability to look past that, Toni would never take him back. Lovino had made sure of that one himself.

 

_And when you left you kissed my lips_

_You told me you’d never ever forget these images, no_

 

 Riiiiiinngg! The doorbell rang. It was probably his brother, Lovino thought. As soon as Feliciano had heard about the breakup, his brother had felt compelled to drop everything and fly to Spain. What an idiot, Lovino thought. 

 Lovino was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It’s what he’d been doing for the past three days. Getting up was too much of a hassle on his broken heart and besides, why move when you have everything you need within arms reach? Throwing the covers off of himself, an avalanche of used tissues fell to the floor. Lovino would be lying if he said he never cried, but no one needed to know that he did. He shoved whatever visible Kleenex there was under his bed and left the room.

 Trudging down the stairs, Lovino almost tripped on the third step but was able to catch the railing with his hand before falling completely. Unfortunately this twisted his wrist at an awkward angle and he heard an audible snap. Lovino sat on the stair he was on and moaned as streaks of pain shot up his arm.

  _Riiiiiinngg!_  The doorbell chimed in again. “I’m coming, I’m coming, bastard! Can’t you give me a single fucking minute to get down the stairs?!” Adding the wrist injury to the list of things making him pissed off and depressed didn’t make Lovino feel any better. 

 Finally gaining enough strength to get up, Lovino made it the rest of the way down the stairs. _Riiiiiinngg! Riiiiiinngg! Riiiiiinngg!_  “Bastard! I’m coming Feli so just shut up already!” he shouted, getting even more fed up.

 Making it to the door, Lovino unlocked it and swung it open. There on the other side stood Toni. Both were speechless and frozen. Lovino felt rage boil up inside of him. How dare Antonio set foot at his doorstep. How dare he ring the doorbell and force Lovino out of bed. How dare he show his face again, when Lovino had made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t welcome.

 ”Leave.” He said flatly and went to slam the door. Toni quickly shoved his foot in the doorway making it impossible to create a barrier between them.

 ”I just want to ta-“

 ”I SAID LEAVE!” Lovino screamed. “I never want to see you again Antonio! Why can’t you understand that? Are you too stupid or something?”

 Antonio looked shocked and hurt by his words. It had taken months for Antonio to convince Lovino to call him Toni and going back on the nickname probably stung him. Good, Lovino thought, he deserved to be hurt. Antonio should feel like shit for what he had done.

 ”You’re a fucking moron! I hate you can’t you see that? Now leave before I call the fucking cops you bastard!” Lovino turned away, but his hand was caught by Toni

 ”Please just let me expl-” Toni was interrupted again, this time by Lovino’s scream of pain. Toni quickly let go of him, concern filling his body to the brim. “Lovi what’s wrong? Has something happened to your wrist?” Toni went to examine it, but Lovino just pulled away again despite the obvious pain he was in. 

 ”J-just go!” Lovino attempted to scream, but his voice cracked as he choked on tears. “Haven’t you done enough damage already?”

 Toni looked as though he wanted to say more, but then thought better of it. He silently stepped forward and kissed a paralyzed Lovino. It was another chaste kiss, like their first, but this time it was a goodbye. Backing away a few steps, Toni whispered “I won’t forget you Lovino.” And with tears in his eyes he slammed the door behind him, running as fast as his feet could take him.

 Lovino collapsed on the floor, tears falling from his eyes like rain. Why did Antonio have to come? Why couldn’t he have just stayed away? Lovino closed his eyes. He must have passed out from exhaustion, because when he opened them again his brother Feliciano was standing over him with a look of concern on his face.


	7. Almost Lover part 7

"…And then that bastard kissed me! Like it was absolutely nothing! Then he slammed the door, MY OWN FUCKING DOOR mind you, and ran away like the tomato eating bastard he is!" Lovino finished recounting the earlier episode to his brother as Feliciano taped his wrist with a bandage.

 ”There, all better!” Feliciano exclaimed as he finished the bandaging. He had a wide grin on his face and Lovino didn’t have the heart to tell him that he’d taped the wrong wrist and that a simple ace bandage wasn’t going to help it. “Now we can go have some fun! I’ve never been to Spain before Lovi! I don’t know much Spanish; in fact I only know how to say I love you and pasta! Huh I just realized I can say I love pasta in Spanish Lovi isn’t that great? Do they have good pasta here in Spain, Lovi? Oh I bet they do! They have some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted! Granted I’ve only had one and it was on the way here! But we should totally…”

 Lovino spaced out as his excitable twin chattered away about god knows what. Of course, trapped in his own mind Lovino became even more depressed. 

 

_I never want to see you unhappy_

_I thought you’d want the same for me_

 

 It was a few days after Feliciano’s arrival and Lovino was starting to feel a little bit better. Having his twin’s constant chatter was a helpful distraction. His wrist was in a cast now, having gone to the doctor later in the day he had broken it. Lovino glared down at it. It was supposed to stay on for six to eight weeks. As if he would wait that long.

 Feliciano was in the kitchen cooking pasta, again. Upon examining Lovino’s fridge his brother had been horrified and had gone out immediately for food. Feli had come back with three dozen tomatoes, flour, milk, noodles, tortillas and cheese. Lovino felt as though he was going to die of pasta overdose. He had at least been able to convince Feliciano not to cook it for breakfast, but lunch and dinner was always,  _always_  pasta. Lovino had no idea how his brother could stand it.

 ”Do you think we can go to the beach today Lovi? I mean I know you want me to help you pack with your wrist being broken and all but it just seems so boring! I saw a market out on the beach the other day, maybe they sell tomatoes! You like tomatoes don’t you? Silly me, of course you do! Everyone likes tomatoes! I mean except Ludwig! He hates tomatoes which is weird because he loves potatoes and the two sound so alike I mean tomato potato see? They’re synonyms right? No… Antonyms! Yeah that’s right because Ludwig loves one and hates the other! You know, maybe you could stay with me at Ludwig’s house wouldn’t that be nice…”

 Feliciano just didn’t know when to stop talking. It seemed like every other thing he said reminded Lovino of Antonio. Lovino put his hands to his ears and then slammed his head again the table he was sitting at for good measure. Of course, that sent pain shooting not only from his casted wrist, but from his forehead as well. Not that he minded. It gave him something to focus on other than the elephant in the room.

 ”..ino? …Lovino? …Lovino! Lovi your phone is ringing! Can you hear me? Oh no what if you’re dead? What then? Please don’t die Lovi I’ll miss you!”

 Raising his head, Lovino glared at his brother. “What are you going on about bastard? I’m not dead!”

 Feliciano’s face showed a mixture of relief and confusion. “Then why haven’t you answered your phone? It’s been ringing for almost five minutes now!”

  _Riiiiiinngg!_  Lovino blinked, just hearing the blaring tone coming from his pant pocket for the first time. Fishing it out, he answered without checking who it was. “Pronto.”

  **“Lovi, it’s Toni, please don’t hang up!”**

 Lovino hung up immediately, not even sparing the caller a second thought. But at soon as the phone snapped shut, it was ringing again. “What, does that bastard have me on speed dial?” He spat, flipping open the phone. “This better be fucking good Antonio! I only answered because I know you won’t stop calling till I either block you or break my phone!” A stunned silence was all Lovino heard on the line.

**“Uhhh… I think I’ll call back later.”**

 The voice was none other than his boss’s. The line went dead and a foul string of curses erupted from Lovino’s mouth.

 The phone rang again. “What do you want?” Lovino asked flatly, tired of all of the calls.

  **"Lovi please let me come over! I can explain what happened! It wasn’t what it loo-"**

 ”First of all,” Lovino snapped, “don’t call me Lovi. You lost that right. And second of all, there is nothing to explain. If you care even a lick about me you’ll hang up right now and never contact me again.”

 Lovino heard what sounded like a choked sob before the line went dead.  _Well that takes care of that_ , he thought. Suddenly exhausted, Lovino got up to go back to bed. “I’m not feeling well, sorry but the tour of the town will have to wait Feli.”

 Said Feli had finished making pasta and was too busy eating it to notice the misery in his brother’s voice. “Oh that’s okay Lovi! I’ll just go shopping then again! I hope you feel better!”

 Lovino was saved from a long speech by a spoonful of fettuccini. Making his way up his staircase, he fell onto his bed with a sob. “Why?” He wailed into his pillow. He didn’t even know what he was asking about. All Lovino knew was that he was heartbroken and wretched and that it was all Antonio’s fault.

 

_Goodbye, my almost lover_

_Goodbye, my hopeless dream_

_I’m trying not to think about you_

_Can’t you just let me be?_

_So long, my luckless romance_

_My back is turned on you_

_I should’ve known you’d bring me heartache_

_Almost lovers always do_


	8. Almost Lover part 8

Taping the last box closed, Lovino exhaled deeply. He was exhausted, physically and mentally, from the long day of packing up Toni’s room. Moving boxes and heavy items around was a big pain with only one usable arm. He literally couldn’t wait to get his stupid cast off.

 Plopping down on the living room couch, one of the only pieces of large furniture left, Lovino closed his eyes. He figured he could get a couple hours of sleep in before work at the coffee shop. He had to remember to apologize to his boss…

  _Riiiiiinnnnggg!_  Lovino jumped, very nearly falling off of the couch. “What do you want,” he grumbled into his phone, half asleep. He was vaguely aware that he had probably missed work, seeing as how it was dark outside.

  **"Dude! Lovino! It’s the awesome Gilbert calling with some awesome news!"**

 ”What do you want, potato eating bastard? I’m busy.” Why the hell was his brother’s bastard boyfriend’s brother calling him? Lovino shook his head. That hurt to think about.

  **"Busy with what? Drowning in tissues? Anyways like I said my awesomeness has news for you! Antonio didn’t cheat on you!"**

 ”Bastard I swear to god! Who put you up to this, huh? Was it Feliciano? My brother is such a s-“

  **"No one put me up to this man! Calm down! Are you gonna let me explain or not?"**

 Lovino was tempted, really tempted, to say no just to spite the German man. But curiosity got the better of him and instead he said, “Okay spill.”

  **"So your brother Feli flew out to your house a few weeks ago suddenly telling my bro there wasn’t any time to explain right? And naturally Ludwig was concerned that something was wrong. So he called Feli after his plane dropped down in Spain and your brother explained that you were heart broken or some shit, no offense."**

 Lovino sighed, already fed up. “Get on with it Gilbert.”

  **"Okay! Okay! So anyways the awesome me didn’t hear about this until a couple days ago. You see, I’ve been in Hungary chasing the skirts of this one girl who totally digs me she just doesn’t know it ye- right anyways I heard Feli and Lud talking about it and I was shocked. That totally didn’t sound like Toni to me-"**

 ”Wait!” Lovino interrupted, “you know Antonio?” A sinking feeling started rising in his chest.

  **"Ja man! Him, Francis, and I all went to an international primary school! We’re all like best friends! So anyways as I was sa-"**

 ”Then how do I know I can believe a single fucking word you’re saying right now?” Lovino began to fume, just seconds away from hanging up.

  **"Hey just listen, mein gott! It’s because I know both of them so well that I realized something must be off because they’d never, I repeat, never sleep with each other! It’s like against our bro-code! So anyways I call up Francis and naturally he doesn’t reply, and neither does Toni so I did the next best thing and flew out to Toni’s getaway house and-“**

 ”Antonio has a getaway house?”

  **"Yes! Now will you stop interrupting, you crazy Italian! I’m trying to help you! So I knock on the door and here Toni answered and quite frankly I was shocked. He looks like complete shit Lovino, like worse than when his parents died! And I asked him what happened and he just started bawling right in the doorway! When I got him calmed down enough he explained to me what happened and, trust me man, it’s a big misunderstanding!"**

 On the other line, Lovino could hear his brother chattering away about god knows what. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on what the German was saying.

  **"So Toni… work and fell… Francis… over and… modeling… bedroom…"**

 ”I CANT HEAR YOU! GET SOMEWHERE AWAY FROM MY IDIOT BROTHER!” Lovino heard shuffling noises and a door bang shut before Gilbert started talking again.

  **"I said Toni got home from work and fell asleep on the couch! Francis came over while he was still asleep and decided for god knows why to model in Toni’s bedroom to pass time! And you see I’ve known Francis a long time and I know that he’d model ass naked in your apartment because he’s just that fucking weird!"**

 In Lovino’s head, he slowly started putting together the pieces that Gilbert hadn’t told him. Toni must have woken up when he had gotten home and went upstairs to change out of his work clothes. Upon finding Francis in his room and realizing how bad it would look if Lovino had discovered them, Toni tried to hide him in the closet but it was too late. And Lovino had never given him the chance to explain. He had just assumed… Some part of Lovino’s brain registered that Gilbert was still talking, but he didn’t care.

 ”Where is Antonio staying, Gilbert? I’m going to pay him a visit.”


	9. Almost Lover part 9

Lovino ran out the door, barely sparing a glance to make sure his door shut. Going down a stone pathway towards the beach, he picked up speed. He knew the area where Antonio now was, and going along the beach would save him some time. He cringed at the sight of several stray dogs sleeping in the sand. It reminded him of Scout and better times.

 Taking a swift turn, Lovino made it up a hill and onto a main road. Pausing to catch his breath, he realized that this is where he had gotten lost during La Tomatina. He let out a small tut of laughter. Was this what love was? Having everything remind you of someone? He started running again.

 He felt the warmth of the sunrise on his back and Lovino shouted out in happiness. He was going to get Toni back and everything was going to be okay. They would move back in together and be happy again, just like before.

 Getting to Toni’s street, Lovino slowed to a walk. Nerves started prickling inside himself as he got closer. Gilbert’s words bounced inside his head.  _“It’s the fashionable light green house at the end of the street, you can’t miss it!”_ The house was in his view now, just up ahead on the opposite side of the road. As if in a fairytale, the door opened and there stood Antonio.

 Lovino was about to make his way across the street when another figure appeared in the doorway. “No,” he whispered. It was Francis. Lovino watched in horror as the man hugged Antonio tight, and then kissed him before leaving. Antonio waved as Francis drove away in a sleek black Mazda, before turning to go back inside.

 

_I cannot go to the ocean_

_I cannot drive the streets at night_

_I cannot wake up in the morning_

_Without you on my mind_

_So you’re gone and I’m haunted_

_And I bet you are just fine_

_Did I make it that easy_

_To walk right in and out of my life?_

 

Lovino ran, tears in his eyes, away from the man he loved. It had all been a trick. Gilbert had lied. Antonio had lied.  _Everyone had fucking lied to him_  and he was done with it. Returning home, he packed a small bag of clothes and drove to the airport. He bought himself the first ticket to Italy and collapsed on an uncomfortable chair.

 Reflecting on the past month, Lovino allowed tears to fall again _. Never again will I let myself get close to someone like that_ , he vowed. One thing he knew for sure was that he was done with love. It wasn’t worth the pain he now felt. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got to Italy, but it didn’t matter. As long as he never set foot in Spain again, he would be happy.

 

_Goodbye, my almost lover_

_Goodbye, my hopeless dream_

_I’m trying not to think about you_

_Can’t you just let me be?_

_So long, my luckless romance_

_My back is turned on you_

_I should’ve known you’d bring me heartache_

_Almost lovers always do_

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it,
> 
> Frenchy Deutsch out~


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